Get pissed, shag someone
by MagicaeArtiumLaudator
Summary: The team go out for a drink and surprising things happen between Gill and Kevin. I feel like I should be classing it as humour just because this ship is hilarious. A definite T; I tried to avoid M. Please R&R!
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: This is nowhere near as good as I'd hoped it would be but it's 3am and I'm going to upload it so I feel like I've done something productive! There will be another chapter, I think I know what's going to happen but then something else might accidentally happen so your guess is as good as mine! Thanks to RebaForever15 for the suggestion of this, it's all a bit silly really but then there's something intriguing about this ship. Anyway, enjoy, please leave me reviews and suggestions :D and I will be updating Without Her at some point, I haven't abandoned it. L x**

**I don't own anything.**

"Coming for a drink, boss?"

The shout drifted through Gill's open office door as she stood up from her desk and she popped her head round the frame to see Rachel looking at her expectantly. The rest of MIT were milling around collecting their bags and coats and chatting cheerily; they'd finished a difficult case that day that they'd been working on for two weeks.

"'Course!" she replied, smiling as she ducked back into her office to get her things. The prospect of a relaxed evening with her team was a very nice one.

Laughing and joking, they ambled across the road and into the pub. Gill bought the drinks, wanting to treat her team, and before long they were all settled around a long table, deciding what food to get. The atmosphere was much more pleasant than it had been for the last couple of weeks, when they'd dragged themselves into the pub and soaked themselves in wine, trying to forget about work.

Food ordered, the team got down to the business of drinking, joke-telling and generally arsing around, which was what they did best – well, almost. The time was flying by and the pub was beginning to fill up, everyone celebrating the beginning of the weekend and none more than Gill's team, who were immensely relieved to be able to slow down for a couple of days. Around 10pm, just when people were starting to get a bit worse for wear, Gill's phone rang. She glanced at the caller ID and her heart sank. Dave. With an exasperated sigh, she pressed the answer button and raised the phone to her ear, signalling to Janet, whom she had been talking to when it rang.

"Dave? What d'you want?" Gill half-shouted, placing a hand over her other ear. There was muffled yelling at the other end of the phone.

"Hang on," she sighed, standing up and wending her way through the tables and chairs until she reached the loos.

"What is it?" she said crossly, annoyed to be interrupted and especially when she'd been having such a good night. A phone call from Dave was never good news.

"THAT BLOODY CHRIS-"

"What?" Gill said, confused. "What about Chris?"

"SAMMY WOULDN'T GO FOR DINNER WITH ME BECAUSE _HE _WAS COMING OVER, I'M NOT HAVING IT, HE'S MY SON AND-"

"Dave!" Gill interrupted, her temper rising, "It's not my bloody fault that Chris and Sammy get on! Especially when I've been working stupid hours, it's good for them to spend time together when Chris is around and I'm not! They get on well!"

"Yeah, I wonder why that is," Dave half-sneered, half-slurred. So he was drunk. Of course he was drunk. "Probably because they're around the same age."

"Fuck off," Gill snapped, feeling the heat rise in her cheeks ever so slightly. So what if Chris was younger? He was so lovely and seemed genuinely keen on her. Which was more than could be said for Captain Underpants, and she told him so in no uncertain terms.

"You hypotr- hypocrhitic", followed by a belch.

"You're- EURGH," Gill said, sickened, "How the fuck have you got yourself into this state? Go away, get your miserable bitch of a life back together and then maybe Sammy will actually want to see you!"

She punched the end call button, not even bothering to wait and see how Dave would react. He sounded like he wasn't far off passing out anyway. She doubted he would even remember calling her by the next morning.

Unfortunately, she would. The toilets were empty; Gill slammed her hand down on the counter by the sinks and glanced into the mirror, blinking away tears. She was sick of Dave doing this. Picking up her phone again, she held the number 3 down – Chris' number on speed dial.

"Chris Latham?"

"It's me," she choked, trying not to sound upset or angry. She wasn't going to tell him that Dave had called, but she thought talking to him might calm her down a bit.

"Oh, Gill…" The important tone of his voice softened immediately; he sounded glad that she'd called. It only made her eyes brim even more. "I'm sorry, sweetheart, I'm on a job and I'm a bit short of time. Are you alright?"

On a job. Gill tried to suppress the jealousy; there still wasn't a day went by that she didn't miss that job. Still, it wasn't Chris' fault. She never showed him any form of envy.

"Oh yeah, never mind" she said would-be brightly, "I just fancied a chat. I'll see you soon. Gimme a call when you get back, we'll fix something up."

"Will do," he replied, "speak to you soon. Miss you."

"Soppy bugger," she replied, as she was sure he was expecting. "Night, cock."

"Night."

Stuffing her phone in her pocket, Gill ran her fingers through her hair and took a deep breath before heading back out to the group. She sat back down next to Janet, who was watching with some amusement as Pete and Mitch squabbled over football.

"Another bottle?" Gill asked, well aware that she, Rachel and Janet had already got through two, of which Janet had only had one large glass because she was driving. Gill and Rachel, of course, were also supposed to be driving, but neither of them had enough willpower to not drink the wine when it was in front of them. One of the many things they had in common.

"You alright?" Janet asked, brow furrowed.

"Fine," Gill replied shortly, marching off to the bar, where Rachel joined her.

"Having another one are we, ma'am?" She asked, eyes twinkling. "I'll get this one."

"See, _this_ is why I employ you," Gill joked, accepting a glass and downing half of it in one. Rachel was looking at her, eyebrows raised.

"Thirsty?" she said drily.

"Oi, don't push it, lady!" Gill warned, but she shot Rachel a forced smile. "Thanks kid," she added, raising the glass.

"Don't mention it," Rachel replied, clinking her own glass against it and taking a swig. "Mmm. That's- oh, hang on," – Rachel's phone had started ringing. "Yeah, hello?"

It seemed to be Sean. Gill looked around the pub, trying not to listen to Rachel prattling on, more than usual because she'd been drinking. It was getting later now and they'd turned the music up; it was a Friday night so people were beginning to dance up on the little stage that was there for gigs and karaoke nights. None of MIT was dancing, although Lee and Pete were singing loudly and drunkenly along. As Gill watched, Janet stood up and made her way over, putting her coat on.

"I'm gonna get off," she shouted over the music, "I want to see the girls before they go to bed. See you soon!"

"Night!" Gill shouted back, waving as Janet headed back to the door. Rachel was still on the phone. Gill refilled Rachel's glass, then picked up the bottle and her own glass and went back to the table, sitting down next to Mitch and Kevin. The drink was beginning to work now; she still felt annoyed and upset by Dave but that was nothing new and she was relieved by the numbing nature of the alcohol.

"Really though," Kevin was saying through a mouthful of crisps to an unimpressed-looking Mitch, "It's not rude or anything, it doesn't affect anyone else!"

"It's disgusting," Mitch replied, moving the bag of crisps out of Kevin's reach as he lunged for them.

"What's disgusting? Or do I know what to know?" Gill asked Mitch drily. He shook his head.

"Kevin can't understand why we don't like it when he talks with his mouth that full. I mean there's talking with food in your mouth, and then there's him!"

Gill fixed Kevin with a steely gaze. It was something she'd told him off about countless times but he never listened. He looked back at her determinedly. "What?"

"Why did I hire you again?" she asked, half-joking.

"Because I'm a brilliant detective and I make you smile?" he suggested cheekily. Gill bit the inside of her lip to suppress the smile, giving her the usual expression she wore when she looked at him – like she was sucking a lemon. Apparently he'd seen through it.

"You might piss me off sometimes but you've got a bit of potential," she acknowledged grudgingly. _And we need you to keep our spirits up._

"See Mitch!" Kevin crowed, raising his pint. "I've got potential!"

"Mmm," Mitch answered, eyeing him. "Be careful with that, you'll spill it!"

"Spill it? Nah!" Kevin exclaimed, and proceeded to down it.

"Boss?"

It was Rachel. Ignoring the sounds of Kevin gulping and Mitch laughing, Gill turned in her seat and looked up at her questioningly, peering slightly to get her into focus. She was feeling a bit fuzzy.

"Sean's on his way, he's gonna pick me up cos, you know, I think I've, erm, had a bit too much to drive."

"Good?" Gill said, not really sure why Rachel was hanging around as if expecting an answer.

"Yeah," she replied, swaying slightly on the spot. "Oops."

Gill laughed in spite of herself. "You're pissed!"

"HA!" Kevin exclaimed, apparently only just joining in the conversation. "Uuuuurp. Oops, pardon!"

"Ugh," Rachel made a face. "You're disgusting."

"Exactly what I just said," Mitch grinned.

"Whatever," Kevin rolled his eyes, "Ma'am, I think that's the first time I've ever heard you giggle!"

"What?" Gill shot back at him, outraged. "I didn't _giggle_!"

"Seems SOMEBODY'S had one… A few… Too many!"

Unable to think of a retort (probably because it was true), Gill reached across the table and thwacked Kevin's upper arm for his trouble.

Kevin held his hands up, looking annoyingly smug, but at that moment was saved by the arrival of Sean before Gill could reprimand him.

"Evening all!" Sean shouted, beaming around at everyone. Rachel tripped forwards and advanced on him, slinging her arms around his neck.

"Hello lovely," he smiled, leaning in to kiss her.

"Get a room!" Mitch exclaimed, looking to Kevin to join in the teasing. Kevin, however, was glaring mutinously at the opposite side of the pub, and a moment later got up and went to join Lee and Pete.

"What's up with him?" Sean asked, looking puzzled.

"Nothin'," Rachel slurred, stroking Sean's face uncoordinatedly and squashing his nose. "He's sulking cos he's… Bit too much to drink… Prick." She made a face, obviously not actually knowing what was wrong with Kevin.

Gill narrowed her eyes, peering after Kevin. Although he was now sitting with Lee and Pete, he still didn't seem his usual self. Rachel and Sean said their goodbyes and ambled off outside, Rachel tottering slightly, leaning on Sean's shoulder. Kevin continued to look depressed.

Making her mind up, Gill marched off to the bar and ordered four shots of vodka, two each, before carrying them over to where Kevin was sitting. She wasn't stupid; she'd watched him gazing open-mouthed at Rachel as she clattered around the office every day. And she was drunk. So getting even drunker seemed like a good idea.

"Here you go, Kev," she announced briskly, placing two of the shot glasses in front of him and spilling a bit in the process.

"What've I done to deserve this?" he asked, amazed, while Pete looked on open-mouthed and Lee tittered.

"Nothin'" Gill replied, raising an eyebrow and knocking back her first shot.

Kevin stared at her for a moment, then followed suit.

"You alright boss?" Pete asked, watching with a slight frown as she finished the second.

"Fine, you?" she replied, looking him in the eye. He glanced sideways at Lee, who looked back at him and shrugged.

They were beginning to annoy Gill a bit. It wasn't any business of theirs how much, what or how fast she drank. She waited impatiently for Kevin to catch up, watching him for signs of improvement in his mood.

He looked up from the table and met her gaze, questioningly at first but then pensively. After a couple of moments, he grinned cheekily and Gill heaved an internal sigh of relief. It was downright weird when Kevin was depressed. And, much as she loathed admitting it, there was something quite cute about him; deep down, she was quite fond of him.

"Coming for a dance, ma'am?"

Gill snorted into her wine. She certainly hadn't expected that!

"Excuse me?" she exclaimed, staring at him, shocked.

"I said, are you coming for a dance?"

"No!" she replied forcefully, not really thinking about it. Then the vodka gave her a nudge and she stood up abruptly. "Yes."

Kevin laughed and stood up too, grabbing her hand and dragging her over to the little stage.

_This is bloody strange_, Gill thought to herself as Kevin took hold of her other hand and began leading her in a stupid kind of jig to a cheesy 80s song. And yet, at the same time, it was quite good fun, and before she knew it she was laughing along – although she really couldn't see very well now; the flashing lights that had been set up by the stage on top of everything she'd had to drink were just too much. Not that it mattered, though. She was having a good time. Gill smiled suddenly – Kevin had managed to make her feel better, as he so often did, although usually without knowing it.

She became vaguely aware of the fact that they were both now more staggering than dancing; through her drunken haze she could feel Kevin completely losing rhythm as his dance moves became more erratic. She dropped his hand, laughing. The dance floor was full around them and she'd forgotten what a good atmosphere it was.

"Oi!" he said indignantly, grabbing her hand again. "Sorry ma'am but we're not leaving yet!"

For a moment, Gill considered slapping him, just because it was Kevin and he was being ballsy. But then the song faded out, it was changing to something a lot slower – a ballad. Just as Gill was about to yank her hand back and stumble back to the table, Kevin pulled her closer – a lot closer. She suddenly found herself pressed right up against him, her left hand in his right, his left arm around her waist, and out of all the members of her team that she could have imagined dancing like this with, Kevin was probably bottom of the list.

_This is not right, _said a tiny, sober part at the back of her mind. _This is Kevin. Not only are you his boss and a good fifteen years older than him but KEVIN. You're off your head. _But most of her was drunk, and angry with Dave, and she didn't have the willpower to pull away. Kevin was pissed too which seemed to make it matter less. He let go of her hand and moved his other arm down to her waist, brushing dangerously close to her chest en route. With both of his arms wrapped tightly around her waist now, it felt only natural to move hers upwards and around his neck. She kept her head resting against his shoulder, making a subconscious effort not to put herself in a position where he could kiss her.

He wasn't put off. Seemingly encouraged by her acceptance of this new and strange intimacy, he began moving his hands downwards to rest on her hips, at the same time ducking his head downwards, moving one of his hands only fleetingly to brush her hair out of the way, before she felt his lips touch her neck.

"Kevin…" It was meant to be a warning, but it came out as more of a moan.

"Mmm?" he murmured, his breath tickling pleasantly just below her ear. She pulled back slightly, looked up at him, with the intention of saying "we need to stop."

And then, in her head, the little voice that had been trying to persuade her to stop piped up again.

_Sod it._

"…Nothing," she said softly, looking directly into his eyes. They were glazed over with alcohol and something that looked disturbingly, and at the same time excitingly like lust. A small smile played around his lips, a slight smug expression passed over his face – and then he went in for the kill.

Their lips met, briefly, softly – then again, and again, in quicker succession, and before Gill knew it they were kissing hard, almost frantically, mouths opened and their tongues dancing expertly: neither of them was a novice in this field and they were both far past being shy. Kevin was pulling her even closer by her hips and she couldn't help but let out a small gasp at the feel of his reaction to their intimacy as they continued dancing, almost grinding. Her own hands began to wander, feeling their way across his chest and then rashly beginning to creep further down his torso.

"Get a room!" someone jeered nearby. Gill and Kevin broke apart abruptly; Gill was on the verge of yelling at the man to bugger off but before she could, Kevin was steering her (slightly wonkily) off the stage and down to where their coats and bags were, whispering in her ear as they went, "your place or mine eh boss?"

_Boss. _She was his boss. And she had Chris, lovely, sweet Chris who treated her so well. She was going to get a reputation if she kept shagging all these younger men. But Gill's judgment was clouded by her inebriation and her need for stress release. It was so wrong, but that just made it more exciting. Gill hated herself for it but she found herself not even telling Kevin that he didn't have to call her "boss" or "ma'am" right now. A small, guilty part of her liked it.

She looked up at him, waiting with the usual cheeky grin for her answer. She bit her lip, narrowing her eyes slightly as she surveyed him.

"Yours." She said decisively, then turned on her heel and marched out (or, she liked to think she was marching, but given by the way he caught her up and grabbed hold of her elbow, her gait was clearly a lot more unsteady than that).

The pair fumbled their way into a taxi and the journey passed in a blur of fleeting kisses, groping hands and growing anticipation. They half-fell out of the taxi and practically ran up to Kevin's flat, which was surprisingly comfortable and tidy – not that Gill noticed. She and Kevin tripped and stumbled their way straight into the bedroom, kissing furiously, ripping each other's clothes off as they went, and Gill's last semi-coherent thought as she practically leapt into bed with her constable was that this was going to be awkward as hell in the morning.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Thank you so much for all your lovely reviews to the first chapter! They made me smile! This is a shorter chapter but it seemed to finish at a good place.. It was originally longer but I've chopped the last bit off and made it the first part of chapter 3, which will be up as and when - I'm on holiday and seem to have WiFi at the moment but I dunno if that'll change! Hope you enjoy despite the brevity and please keep R&Ring :) L x**

Gill awoke early the next morning, indecently early for a weekend day – about 6am. The first thing she noticed was that she'd a splitting headache and a mouth dryer than the Sahara. She almost groaned and turned over to go back to sleep for another couple of hours, the way she usually would if she was hungover and had nowhere to be, but then she realised that the bed she was currently lying in naked was definitely not hers, nor was it Chris'.

Her eyes opened fully and she shot up in bed, horrified, clutching the sheet up to her collarbone as the events of last night began to make themselves clear in her mind. Slowly, trying not to make herself even dizzier than sitting up had made her, she turned her head towards the man asleep next to her, also naked and snoring unashamedly, but looking pleased with himself even in his sleep. Passing a hand across her eyes, the mantra "shit, shit shit, shit, SHIT" running through her mind, Gill slipped as quietly as she could out of the bed, sneaking the throw off the end of it to wrap round herself as she began hunting for her clothes.

She found her underwear, tights and shirt all littered around Kevin's room and put them on hurriedly, laddering the tights in the process. Creeping into the open plan sitting room, she discovered her shoes and handbag just inside the door, her jacket thrown over the back of the sofa and her skirt, somehow, in pride of place on top of a lampshade. Feeling somewhat sick, and not just because of the hangover, she finished getting dressed and left the flat, hurrying down the stairs, out the front door and into the fresh air. She walked round the corner, not knowing where she was but wanting to be out of view of the flat before she checked. As soon as she was out of eyeshot, Gill rummaged around in her bag and found, to her great relief, that her phone hadn't run out of battery. Less fortunately, however, she did have four missed calls – two from Sammy, one from Janet and one from a number she didn't recognise. Ignoring them, she opened the Google maps app she almost never used and held the phone out, waiting for it to tell her where she was.

Chadderton. So she couldn't be too far away from where Rachel lived… But there was no way she was going to go staggering round there; it wouldn't be appropriate, not least because Rachel was with Sean. There was no way she could ring Janet, it would wake the girls and Dorothy, and she didn't want Sammy to see her like this. She didn't have any money for a cab, so, preparing herself for excessive teasing and probably a bollocking, she reluctantly punched in Julie's number and tiredly held the phone up to her ear, her head pounding with every ring.

"Julie Dodson?" Julie answered, sounding sleepy.

"Jules…"

"Gill! What the hell on earth are you ringing me at this time for you crazy bitch?"

"Can you do me a favour?"

"What?"

"I overdid it a bit last night and…"

"Who did you shag?"

"Never you mind," Gill replied, her blood running cold at the thought of Julie's reaction if she found that little titbit of information out. "Either way I'm stuck and I need someone to pick me up…"

Julie sighed. "Where are you?"

"Chadderton."

"More specifically!"

"Um." Gill didn't really want to specify; Julie had been Kevin's boss and as such might know where he lived. She glanced around and then, as luck would have it, spotted a large Tesco's sign over some houses. She knew where she was now; she and Rachel had gone there for sustenance for the journey before setting off to Bristol.

"Oi!"

"Sorry. You know the big Tesco?"

"Oh yeah. You owe me!"

"Thanks Slap," Gill said, relieved. She hung up and began walking down the road towards Tesco, trying to hold her head high. She was wearing a smart suit after all; as long as nobody looked closely enough to spot last night's smeared make-up and the ladder in her tights, they wouldn't know she was doing the walk of shame.

While she was walking, Gill investigated the missed call from the unrecognised number. Whoever it was had left a message, and the culprit was immediately obvious as soon as they started talking:

"BOSSSSSSSSSss, I'm just ringing you off Sean's phone cos erm… What? (the sound of muffled giggling) Shhh! Yeah just to say thanks for the wine and please if you're still there give Kev a hug from me! See ya!"

Gill rolled her eyes. Typical Rachel and certainly not as useful a call as she'd had last time Rachel had drunk called her. _Still, I'm one to talk, _Gill thought, cringing as she was reminded of how much more than a hug she'd given Kevin, and probably on Rachel's behalf given that it was Rachel he was head over heels about. She put the phone back in her bag, not bothering to reply. Rachel probably wouldn't remember calling anyway.

When she got to Tesco, it occurred to Gill that she could have got cash out of the machine there and called a taxi, but it was too late now, Julie was on her way. Gill leant against the bike racks near the store entrance, squinting in the sunlight. She would have to speak to Kevin and make sure he wasn't going to tell anyone. Not yet though, she'd wait until he'd have woken up and until she'd got a few coffees in her. As she stood there, waiting for Julie, she questioned herself _why._ Why Kevin, of all people? What had come over her? She'd obviously not been too drunk because she hadn't been sick and she did remember everything, even if it was a bit hazy. She'd had one night stands before, every now and then, but this was different, because she knew Kevin. She worked with Kevin. He was _Kevin_!

The beeping of a horn ripped through her hangover and Gill groaned, glaring at Julie, who was grinning at her from the driver's seat of the car that had just pulled up. She walked round to the other side and got in somewhat sheepishly.

"Good night then?" Julie asked, looking like the cat that'd got the cream. This had clearly given her weeks' worth of teasing material.

"Ugh" Gill replied.

"Yeah, I bet," Julie laughed, moving off, "serves you right, you daft old bag."

"Oi, less of the old bag please! Just because you're choosing a zimmerframe doesn't mean we're all ancient."

"I may be a couple of years older than you, lady, but some of us don't mistreat our livers the way you do!"

Gill snorted. "My arse!"

"Yes, I'm glad you've brought that up," Julie answered, a smug smile playing around her lips, "I hope you realise I'm not going to let it drop until you tell me who you slept with last night?"

"You'll be so lucky," Gill retorted, her tone indicating that the matter was closed. Julie just smiled in a self-satisfied way, as if she was sure she'd get the truth out of her best friend eventually. But Gill couldn't tell her. Not this time.

The rest of the journey passed in silence, Julie allowing Gill some quiet time before she relaunched the attack. When they got back to Gill's, Julie accompanied her indoors for a coffee. Gill led the way into the kitchen, going through the motions of making the coffee tiredly, hoping she would feel better once she'd had some. While she was clattering around, Sammy appeared from upstairs and leant in the doorway sleepily, looking a bit annoyed.

"Hi love," she said, going over to give him a hug. He hugged her briefly then peered at her.

"Mum, where were you last night? Why didn't you call?"

"Um." Gill hadn't thought this far ahead. She did not have an excuse for where she'd been.

Thankfully, Julie seemed to have decided that she didn't need punishing _that _much and chipped in.

"I went for a drink with them all last night; your mum got a bit worse for wear and ended up snoring on my sofa."

Gill nodded, smiling in what she hoped was a reassuring way at Sammy.

"Yeah, sorry I didn't phone you, kid. I was… Well."

"Okay," he said, looking a bit suspicious. "I'm gonna go back to bed for a bit. See you later."

Once Sammy had mooched back off upstairs and Gill had heard his bedroom door shut, she turned to Julie, handing her a mug of coffee.

"Thanks for that!" she told her gratefully. "I didn't have an excuse ready."

"You're welcome… But in return I think it's only fair you tell me who it was! Is it someone I know?"

"No."

"Gill, I can tell when you're lying… Come on, it can't be that bad!"

"Nose out! It's my business."

"Not when you're calling me to pick you up at stupid o'clock on a Saturday morning it's not! The way you're going on, you'd think it was Kevin!"

Gill spluttered into her coffee. Julie narrowed her eyes.

"Sorry, you made me laugh!" she said, forcing herself to grin.

"It wasn't was it?"

"Wasn't what?"

"Kevin."

"No, of course not!"

"Look me in the eye and say that."

Gill raised her gaze to meet Julie's, cursing herself for not phoning a taxi. Julie was one of the very few people who could read her like an open book.

"Jesus, Gill! It was Kevin! What the fuck were you thinking?"

"I don't know!" Gill sighed, "I was pissed out my skull, I was angry with Dave, Chris was away… Kevin was moping around because of Rachel and Sean so I bought him – us both – shots and one thing led to another…"

Julie was shaking her head.

"Gill, you've got to phone him, now, and make sure he doesn't tell anyone about this. If it gets out you'll be a laughing stock."

"You think I haven't worked that out?" she snapped back. But Julie was right.

"Ring him. Now."

"Fine. Fine!"

Gill fished her phone out of her bag and glanced at the screen – 1 new message, from Kevin Lumb.

"He's texted me!"

"Look at it then, don't just stand there like a lemon!"

Gill skim read the text, brow furrowed slightly, then read it out for Julie.

"You didn't have to creep off like that this morning, boss, but you don't have to worry, I won't tell anyone. It'd be as bad for my reputation as it would for yours ;) See you Monday. Kev x"

"That'll be the day," Julie snorted, "he'll want to boast about it to all and sundry…"

"No, I don't think he will," Gill replied seriously. "He's improved a bit, you know, since he was in your syndicate. And he wouldn't want it to get back to Rachel. Anything that might potentially ruin his chances with her isn't worth the risk."

"He really likes her then?"

"Poor lad," Gill said, and she meant it. "Just when he finally shows himself capable of feelings other than just horny, Rachel takes up with Sean."

"Hm. Sorry, Gill, I can't feel too sorry for him… But you obviously like him, so.."

"I don't like him! Well, I don't dislike him. But he's alright."

"You shagged him last night!"

"And I'm never gonna hear the end of it, am I?"

"That you aren't," Julie smiled. "Anyway, I'll leave you to your hangover."

"Yeah. Thanks Julie… For everything."

"No problem," Julie replied, as the two of them walked towards the front door.

"Really, I mean it. You're not half bad sometimes."

"Oh, thanks Gill." Julie laughed, hugging her. Gill gladly accepted the hug, enjoying the familiar smell and feel of her best friend.

"You stink, by the way," Julie said jokily as they broke apart, "Go and shower."

"Charming as always," Gill replied drily.

"You know me! Bye, you raging drunkard."

"Bye Slap."

Gill closed the door and leant against it, exhaling slowly. It looked as if everything was going to be alright. She'd just have to see how Kevin acted at work. Cursing herself, she stumbled upstairs for a shower and hoped to God that Kevin would stick to his word.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: I'm not gonna lie, this fic is the best fun I've ever had writing fanfiction. I want to dedicate this chapter to all the lovely Scott and Bailey girls who I fangirl with on Twitter – you're all brilliant! Special mentions should go to Hayley, whose "Every Silver Lining Has A Cloud" has just been published as an ebook and to Amy, whose Gill/Kevin video on YouTube has been watched by Ben Batt and recommended by him to Amelia Bullmore! Very exciting times. Again, thank you for reviews; I love them more than cake so please keep leaving them! GirlonaBridge, I particularly enjoyed your reviews, so thank you! :D Anyway, sorry for the long A/N , here's chapter 3! L x**

**I don't own anything. Emails between Kevin and Gill are taken from the DMs between the RP Twitter accounts. Credit to AmyMcTweetFace who RPs Kevin!**

On Monday morning, Gill was to be found in the office even earlier than usual, having not slept all that much the night before. She was stressed, as she had been all weekend – Sammy, poor boy, had left her to her bad mood and gone to stay with Orla on Saturday night because she herself was apparently "too stressy to be around". The thing was, Gill really didn't know if she could trust Kevin, and she dreaded the idea of her syndicate all sidling in looking smug and taunting her. If that happened, she'd have to resign. Having a relationship with one of her constables would have been bad enough – a one night stand threw her good reputation completely out of the window. Julie was right; she'd be the laughing stock of MIT.

For the couple of hours before the rest turned up, Gill spent her time pacing around, starting tasks then not finishing them, moving things around and then putting them back. It was unlike her, but she was very worried. She'd never done anything this inappropriate before.

They finally trooped in, wearing Monday morning expressions and all glancing longingly towards the coffee machine the second they walked in. Gill hastily spotted Kevin and, catching his eye, beckoned him imperiously; he ambled over to her office, his expression a cross between annoyance and smugness.

As soon as he'd entered the room, Gill closed the door and rounded her desk. He hovered around until she pointed at the chair opposite her, which he took, waiting for her to speak first.

"Right, Kevin, I need to talk to you about Friday night-"

"I haven't told anyone," he interrupted, with the patronising look of a parent trying to soothe an over-anxious child.

Gill gave him a look.

"Good, thank you," she said, "but what I really want to say is… Can we just… I think it might be best if we just forget about it. We were both pissed and…"

"Well yeah," Kevin replied, "I don't want R- anyone knowing either, they might…. Think things, that aren't true."

"Exactly," Gill agreed, relieved that he'd caught on so quickly. She'd thought he would, but it made her feel much better to hear him say it to her in person in as many words. "Good. Okay."

"That all?" he grinned.

"Yes."

"Okay," Kevin said cheerfully, standing up and making for the door. However, as he reached it, he paused with his hand on the handle.

"By the way, ma'am?"

Gill turned to look at him questioningly.

"You're a bloody good shag."

Gill opened her mouth – to tell him off or thank him, she wasn't sure which – but he'd already winked at her, opened the door and walked out. Gill gaped after him. He always had to have the last laugh, did Kevin.

Still, she was smirking to herself as she turned back to her paperwork.

The next few days passed without incident. Kevin continued to annoy Gill in his loveably irritating way, Gill continued to tell him off frequently and the rest of the team didn't seem to suspect anything. On the Wednesday afternoon, however, Rachel knocked at Gill's office door, which she closed behind her when she entered the room. Gill looked at her over her glasses, waiting.

"Erm," Rachel began, helping herself to one of the seats in front of Gill's desk. "Could I… Book some time off? In August."

"Yeah. Sure," Gill answered, opening the calendar on her computer. "When?"

"Erm, the 23rd and then that weekend and the Monday. So back on the 28th."

"5 days," Gill observed, her tone light but with a hint of disapproval, "why?"

"Sean and I are getting married" Rachel replied, smiling. Gill looked up, surprised. She hadn't realised things were so serious with Rachel and Sean.

"Congratulations," she said. There didn't seem to be much else to say.

"You're invited, of course," Rachel added. "I'd like you to be there. If you can." She looked as though she meant it.

Gill smiled. "Thanks kid! I'll book the day off for the whole team, yeah?"

"That'd be great! Um…"

"Yeah?"

"You're invited to the hen do as well. Saturday night before the wedding. If you want to. Jan's organising it."

"I'll let you know," Gill replied, "depends what's kicking off here."

"Right. Alright!" Rachel gave her another smile before rising to leave. She looked genuinely happy with her decision. Gill was pleased for her, especially after all the shit Rachel had had to deal with regarding Nick, but she couldn't help but feel a pang for Kevin. He would be heartbroken.

Gill looked out of the window of her office, thinking. Kevin was on the phone at his desk, writing something down as he spoke. He wasn't a bad worker. He'd never be one of the best, like she was sure Rachel would be one day, but he was alright and his heart was in the right place. Shaking herself, Gill returned to her computer, finishing tapping in the details of the time off for Rachel's wedding. Spending time musing about members of her team was not a productive use of her time.

However, Gill found herself keeping a closer eye on Kevin than usual during the afternoon. At one point, she watched from behind her mug of tea as Rachel approached him. Gill's office door was open, and she heard the conversation.

"Kev?"

Even from inside her office, Gill could see Kevin's eyes light up as he looked up at Rachel, who had perched herself on the edge of his desk.

"Rachel," he replied in a would-be-cool sort of way.

"Sean wants to know if you're still okay to be best man."

"Well, yeah," Kevin answered, with a valiant attempt at his usual tone. "I don't really know why me, but he's alright is Sean!"

"I dunno why he chose you either," Rachel teased, "I think he needs his head examining meself but there you go."

"I could say the same about you!" Kevin retorted as Rachel stood up to go back to her own desk. She grinned at him and wandered off. Gill watched Kevin's expression change from jokey to – unusually enough for him – slightly sad, and next second he got up, announcing that he was going to the shop over the road to get some doughnuts, and left.

Brow furrowed, Gill opened her email and clicked on "address book". She entered Kevin's name in the "to" bar and then, leaving the subject blanked, moved her cursor into the main body and paused, thinking. Eventually, she typed out: "Are you alright? I know Rachel's announced her engagement now and… Well, I wasn't born yesterday."

Send. Gill exhaled slowly. She wasn't sure why she was so worried about Kevin's welfare all of a sudden, but the idea of him being unhappy was… Not quite abhorrent, but definitely made her uncomfortable. Would he read stuff into her interference? Would he think that she hadn't meant what she said about wanting to forget about Friday night? That would be stupid, she told herself, because she _did _mean it. Of course she did. He was Kevin, for Christ's sake.

Next to her, her phone buzzed insistently; a text from Chris. Gill opened it with some degree of trepidation – she was on tenterhooks in case he somehow found out what had happened.

"Haven't seen you in a while. Fancy coming round tonight? C xx"

Gill simply looked at her phone for a minute. She was very conscious of the fact that she'd not got nearly as much work done today as she should've and that was inexcusable; Gill did not let her private life get in the way of work. Deciding that getting back to normal was what was needed, she replied "Go on then! I'll come over at 9. Xx"

Kevin returned from his doughnut trip just as Gill was actually settling down to some work. She determinedly didn't look through her office windows to see how he was or what he was up to, staying focused on the task in hand. Nobody distracted her from this job – especially not Kevin.

Next minute, her computer bleeped with a new email. Given the timing, Gill was fairly sure this was Kevin's reply, and her first instinct was to not look at it yet. Then she thought that was a bit too much like playing silly buggers, and besides, there was a chance it might not be. So, convincing herself that she was checking on that off-chance that it was work-related, she opened the email.

"Yeah, Sean's a good lad! (for a road rat) .. As long as she's happy! .."

The first thing Gill noticed was that Kevin hadn't picked up on the fact that she'd known without being told about his feelings towards Rachel. This gave her a sort of warm feeling inside; the knowledge that he trusted her with that information enough not to challenge how she knew it. Maybe she knew him better than she thought – and he her. She immediately clicked reply, and, after typing out and deleting several half-formed responses, all giving advice and offering words of consolation, she settled for a simple, "Good. Yes, that's the main thing!" which she sent and, without further ado, buried her head back in her work.

Kevin didn't reply to her email, although Gill did catch him looking at her a few times – a calculating look that she wished she saw more of when he was trying to help solve a murder. She responded to each of these gazes with a sharp glance, which always had him looking away instantly. It was all very strange, and Gill was glad when they all finally left the office. She hurried out, hurling a rushed goodnight at Rachel and Janet as she walked briskly past them, and threw herself into her car, feeling more relaxed at the thought of going to see Chris.

When Gill arrived at Chris' house, he was waiting for her. He opened the front door even as she was walking up the path and leant against the frame, beaming at her. She smiled back at him, a genuine smile – she was so happy to see him after all the weird things her emotions had been doing this week. Chris had opened his arms and Gill walked straight into them, her smile widening as she breathed in his familiar scent. His arms were wrapped around her shoulders and she felt him softly kiss the top of her head. They broke apart and walked back into his house together, heading for the kitchen for a glass of wine and chatting as they went.

"So where was this job you were on?" Gill asked, leaning against the counter while Chris retrieved a bottle of red from the fridge.

"Birmingham," he replied, raising his eyebrows. "It turned out to be gang-related, after all the messing about. Bit of a disappointment, really. They didn't need to get us in."

Gill smiled wanly. She'd rather have been working on a gang war in Birmingham than sitting in her office trying to get her head round her officers' relationships, both with each other and with her.

"Enough about work though," Chris said gently, handing her a glass. "How are you? How's Sammy"

"Fine, thanks," she replied, taking a large swig. "Sammy's going away to some festival or other next weekend so he's taken half my bank account off to fart around with in some camping shop. He wants those heater things, big tent, you name it."

Chris smiled. "He'll enjoy it. You might want to hose him down before you bring him indoors when he gets back though!"

"Speaking from experience, are we?" Gill asked, raising an eyebrow.

"My mother hosed me down one time when I came back from a very muddy festival and it didn't do me any harm," he answered, grinning.

"I don't blame her," Gill teased, "I frequently want to hose you down."

"Oh really?"

"Because you smell, obviously."

"Of course." Chris winked. "Shall we go and sit somewhere comfier?"

Gill gladly marched off into his living room and they curled companionably up on the sofa, chatting, kissing and watching telly. It was extremely comfortable and Gill felt the most contented that she had all week. After a couple of hours, their kisses started to get more intense; outer layers of clothing were removed, hands and lips began to wander.

"Bed?" Chris asked her, his voice slightly husky with desire.

"Mmm" Gill mumbled – Chris' hand was much too far up her skirt for her to form coherent words.

Suddenly, Chris stood up, picking Gill up as he went. She was so petite that she wasn't at all difficult for him to lift. She laughed and tried to tell him to put her down, but he kissed her to shut her up and carried her upstairs. This was what she loved about him; he was just so much fun to be with. And he didn't get possessive or jealous like a lot of men did, yet he still managed to be loyal and attentive. It made her feel all the guiltier about what she'd done.

"You okay?" he said quietly, joining her under the covers after depositing her on his bed.

"Yeah," she said defensively, attempting to distract him with more kisses.

He pulled back and looked at her closely.

"You sure?" he asked softly. He didn't look accusatory or suspicious; if anything he looked worried. Gill swallowed the lump of guilt that had appeared out of nowhere in her throat. Telling him wouldn't make anything any better – she would just have to accept that she'd made a mistake and move on. Feeling slightly calmer at the thought (for in the here and now, while she was in bed with Chris, Kevin was much easier to forget about), she smiled genuinely.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Honestly."

He seemed to believe her; he certainly picked up where they'd left off fast enough. To Gill's relief, the sex was as good as always; the connection between her and Chris was still a strong one. It wasn't long before they lay, panting and sweaty, mumbling soppy, post-coital nonsense at each other as first Chris, then Gill fell asleep. Gill's dreams were full of the people she loved and indeed was supposed to love; Chris, Julie and Sammy all made appearances in her mind that night, and when she woke up the next morning to find Chris presenting her with a breakfast tray, she felt much better rested than she could have hoped for. Chris had managed to sort out her emotional turmoil, and she was extra affectionate towards him as she got ready for work, even though he didn't know what he'd done to deserve it.

"I love you," Chris smiled as he kissed her goodbye. Normally Gill would've accused him of being a smarmy bastard and stomped off to her car in pretend disgust, but today she found herself saying the words back to him. He looked so pleased she almost wanted to say it again, but prevented herself. Gill Murray was not, and never would be, sickeningly soppy – not towards anyone.

Arriving at work, Gill walked to her office with a spring in her step, looking forward to her second cup of coffee of the day already. On her way, however, she was intercepted by Mitch, who seemed to have come in early for something.

"Boss?" he said, "can I have a word?"

"Sure," Gill replied, leading the way into her office. He closed the door behind them and she shot him a quizzical glance, wondering with a trace of unease what he was about to say.

"It's about erm… Last Friday."

"What about last Friday?" Gill asked, her blood running cold.

"I saw you and Kevin leave together. And I wouldn't have said anything, but I wasn't the only one."

"What?" Gill asked, not even trying to make excuses – the look on Mitch's face was serious. "Who?"

"Dave."


End file.
